Bee County residents may no longer ride out hurricanes but must evacuate during natural or man-made disasters if ordered to do so by the proper authorities.

Texas residents who do not evacuate, and have to be rescued, can be fined, imprisoned and even sued to recover the costs of a rescue effort under House Bill 1831, which went into effect Tuesday.

The new law gives county judges and mayors the power to authorize use of “reasonable force” to remove people from the area.

The new law also applies to other disasters, such as fires or floods.

“A person is civilly liable to a governmental entity, or a nonprofit agency cooperating with a governmental entity, that conducts a rescue on the person’s behalf for the cost of the rescue effort if the person knowingly ignored a mandatory evacuation order under this section and engaged in an activity or course of action that a reasonable person would not have engaged in; or failed to take a course of action a reasonable person would have taken,” the new law states.

Bee County veterans who are totally disabled will benefit from a new law that went into effect Tuesday.

House Bill 3613 recognizes Texas’ disabled veterans’ service to our country by providing totally disabled veterans with a 100 percent exemption on their local property taxes.

“This law is a good thing and will really help our disabled veterans, especially in these difficult and stressful economic times,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Eloy Rodriguez, a Vietnam war veteran. “I guess the people in Washington wanted to do something good for those veterans who placed their lives on the line for their country.”

Rodriguez figures local disabled veterans in Bee County could keep an average of $1,500 that they would have paid in local property taxes.

The bill also amends the schedule of property tax exemptions for veterans with certain disability ratings.

House Bill 10 protects Texas homeowners by bringing the state into compliance with the Federal Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing (SAFE) Act.  The bill requires the registration and licensing of individuals engaged in mortgage lending.

The bill also provides clear and broad authority to the state to investigate violations of the SAFE Act and, if necessary, revoke licenses of mortgage lenders. In addition, the bill requires fingerprinting, background checks, and investigation of personal/financial history for all mortgage loan lenders.

House Bill 339 increases the total number of hours of behind-the-wheel driving instruction a teen receives from 14 to 34 hours, and creates an adult driver education requirement for applicants older than 18 and younger than 21.

Under the law, adults 18 and over, but younger than 21 will be required to take a driver’s education course.

Senate Bill 187 will improve medical care provided to children with disabilities and reduce financial burdens of working families by creating a Medicaid buy-in program for children with disabilities.

The bill targets families with incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty level and establishes monthly premiums on a sliding scale based on income.

House Bill 537 requires everyone riding in an automobile to wear a seat belt, no matter where they are seated.